Claws and Swords
by readeverything92
Summary: Life is as good as usual until the gang stumbles upon a girl in trouble. Is she okay? Or is she just like them. I know the summary sucks, but I think that it's a really good story.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter1

The night was dark as the girl ran through the dim streets of the city. Her attacker's footsteps only whispers in the night. She glanced back at the beckoning shadows spreading their cold fingers out to her. The girl's breathing quickened as she saw a figure approach her. The alley she was running down turned out to be a dead end. A manhole saw at her feet so she quickly uncovered it and slid down the ladder.

The figures followed her down into the sewer. Her feet slid on the water-covered cement. The echoes of the chase were spreading through the canals and tunnels. She tripped and fell onto the ground. Turning she saw the men advance toward her fallen form. She shut her eyes and waited for the cold she knew that would come. Suddenly the sounds of fighting met her ears.

In front of her there were four short figures beating back the men. Metal glinted in the dim light that came through the manholes. Grunts of pain were heard as the dark men retreated. The girl lied on the ground trembling. Her arms covering her head.

"Is she okay?" asked a voice that faintly reminding her of a surfer. There were mumblings and then a hand on her shoulder. She cried out in pain and curled into a ball. The hand retreated as if it touched fire.

"It's okay, were here to help." A kind voice said above her.

"I…I don't need help. Just leave me alone." She said sitting up sorely. She had been running since dawn and had little to eat since the day before. There was nothing much she could do except sit there.

"If we leave they might come back. With an even bigger force, and dude, that's not cool. There was a lot." The first voice said. The fallen woman heard shifting bodies and then there was someone kneeling next to her.

"You aren't helping Mikey. Now, are you hurt?" He gently reached out and received a wince. "If we get you into the light we could help better."

"No! I…don't want you to help. You'll just call them up again. Like the last time I went into the light." She said scooting herself against the wall.

"We can't go into the light either." said a gruff voice. Suddenly someone lit up a flashlight and shone it on one of her rescuers. It was a giant green turtle with a red bandanna around its eyes. There were two sais around its waist. She gasped as the light swung from one green being to another showing her that each of her rescuers was a giant turtle with a bandanna and a ninja weapon.

"Why don't you come with us, we'll help you." Said the turtle with the blue bandanna and twin katannas. He reached out a three-fingered hand that she grasped. He pulled her up onto her feet as she tried not to moan and groan. The purple turtle led the way down a tunnel. Light seemed to come from ahead and the girl tried to hide from it behind the blue turtle.

"This is our home. Dude, you are welcome to whatever's in the fridge." The orange turtle named Mikey said. He walked past the couches and computers to grab one of the sodas on the counter.

"I'm Leonardo. That's Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo." Said the blue turtle pointing at each of his brothers as their names were said. "Donny's the medic, so why don't you sit down somewhere while he gets his kit." The one named Donatello walked up with a white box.

"What's your name sweet thing?" Michelangelo asked sitting next to her.

"Ca…Catalina Morryson. My friend called me Cat." Catalina said pulling her hat tighter over her head.

"Well, Catalina. Where are you hurt?" Donatello asked sitting on a nearby footstool. Slowly Catalina took off her jacket to reveal a bloodstained tank top. Her shoulders were bloody and tender. Most of Catalina's forearms were covered in makeshift bandages.

"Dude." Michelangelo said softly.

"I tried to fix it myself." Catalina said softly. Donatello tried to take off the black gloves on Catalina's hands, but she jerked them back. "No. Don't do that."

"Are they wounded too?" He asked looking at Catalina. She slowly nodded and slid off the gloves to reveal bandaged hands tipped with claws. Catalina reached up and pulled her hat off making her red-brown hair tumble down her shoulders. There were two cat ears on her head that trembled.

"What are you?" Leonardo asked looking at Catalina's ears.

"What are _you_?" Catalina asked softly. "Did you escape too?" She winced as Donatello unwrapped her arms.

"What are you talking about?" Michelangelo asked leaning forward.

"Government scientists. They've been kidnapping humans to test their theory of mutants." Said someone from the doorway. It was a giant rat in a robe. "I am Master Splinter. No, we were not 'lab rats' as they put it. I'm guessing you escaped from their clutches." Catalina nodded. "How long were you taken for?"

"They took me four years ago." Catalina said unshed tears making her green eyes shine. She was silent as she watched Donatello clean her shoulders. "They didn't even tell me what was going on. They just knocked me out while I was on my way home from school and dropped me in a jail cell." The sadness in her voice penetrated their hearts.

"What exactly did they do to you?" Raphael asked his arms crossed. He acted as if he cared little, but he was listening intently.

"They shoved me in a room and injected my body with mutated animal DNA to see what my body would take too. It only took three and a half years of pain for them to inject me full of Tiger DNA." Catalina stared at her hands and breathed deeply to calm herself down.

"You said something about 'last time I went into the light'." Donatello said tying up the last of the bandages. "Did something happen after you mutated?"

"I escaped from the lab after the first cat injection. Then I only had claws. I met up with a scientist and asked if he could help. I didn't know he was working with _them_. I had been hiding during the day and running by night sometimes I even traveled in the sewers." Catalina said licking her lips. "He called them up while I was asleep and when I woke up they were there. When they finally dragged me back to that hellhole I got another injection. Kitten DNA. Now, I can barely climb a tree let alone bend metal."

"Wait, you could bend metal? Cool, I wish I could do that." Michelangelo said bouncing in his seat.

"You are already annoying enough with being able to pretend to be Superman." Raphael said walking towards them. "Catty, do you want anything to eat?" Catalina smiled up at him grateful.

"Dude, Raph was nice to someone! That's gotta mean the world's gonna end or something equally bad like pizza becoming extinct." Michelangelo said putting his hands on his head in horror. Raphael glared at him and walked to the kitchen. Master splinter walked over to Catalina and patted her head, making her ears twitch.

"Do not worry. My sons will take good care of you. They can handle almost anything." With that the rat walked out of the room and into a room with a scroll door. Raphael came back with a piece of pizza on a plate and a glass of milk. He handed it to Catalina and she ravenously ate the pizza and guzzled down the milk.

"Have you eaten anything today?" asked Leonardo watching Catalina drain the glass. She swallowed and shook her head.

"I've been running since I woke this morning. Haven't had time to eat. I didn't want to get caught again." Catalina said yawning largely, showing them her sharp cat teeth. "Is there anywhere I could crash?" Leonardo offered his room and they let her fall asleep in his bed. She curled up and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

"What do we do now?" asked Donatello who watched Catalina's ears flick back and forth as they continued their conversation. "We can't just let her heal and send her on her merry way."

"It seems that she's been through a lot. The government'll probably catch her if she steps out into the city. There is nothing much we can do." Leonardo said closing the door.

"Dude, she can stay here with us. I bet that we can turn one of the rooms into her room. I mean this can become a mutant sanctuary or something." Mike said jumping in front of Leonardo as they walked towards Master Splinter's room. "She's one of us now, she can't leak information into the outside world. I bet she even cooks better than Donny."

They entered as Master Splinter was meditating. His eyes were still closed as he spoke. "Catalina is, for now, to stay here. She is one of many to come for I fear the worst. I must speak with her when she awakes. I fear that something is about to take place."

"Tell us, Sensei." Donatello pleaded, but Master Splinter shook his head.

"Protect her, my sons. Now go get some sleep. Sunrise is still far away." He said folding his legs to begin meditating again. The four turtles bowed to their master and left his room. They separated to their rooms except for Leonardo who slept on the couch.

It wasn't until dawn when Donatello woke to the sounds of whimpering. His room was across from Leonardo's room so he knew it was Catalina. Carefully he peeked into the room and saw a form shuddering on the bed. The poor girl sat up and lifted what looked to be a tail. She sighed and her dark eyes flicked to the door.

"I can hear you out there, Donatello." Catalina said turning to Donatello as he opened the door. "For ninjas you guys are loud."

"What are you doing up so late?" Donatello asked standing in the doorway. Catalina looked down at her new tail.

"I guess the last DNA they stuck in me was diluted. I just grew a tail. Usually it happens right there while I'm on the operating table. As soon as it enters my bloodstream, I start to morph and change." Catalina said her voice getting hoarse. "You know, morphing is painful. Most of the kids my age were killed because they couldn't handle the pain. If they changed back to being human then they didn't adapt to that animal so they tried again with a different animal."

She shivered and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. Donatello reached over and pulled a blanket around her. "Don't worry, we won't let you go back there." Catalina's sad face turned up to him.

"Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise."

Catalina fell asleep almost instantly after that and Donatello stayed watching her for awhile. Then he went to go watch TV. No matter what he couldn't stop thinking about what the people had done to Catalina. They murdered innocent children to test their theories after they kidnapped them and made their family's suffer.

"Donny, What'cha doin' up so early?" Michelangelo asked walking in yawning. He went into the kitchen and then returned with a bowl of Lucky Charms.

"I couldn't sleep." Donatello said flipping through the channels. "What are our plans for today?" Mike shrugged his shoulders and drained his bowl.

"Leo called April last night. Dude asked her to bring down a couple changes of clothes for the kitten upstairs. I mean everything she's got is all bloody or torn up. It isn't hard to believe what she's been through." Mike dropped his bowl on the table next to him. "Dude, I still can't believe how much she was beat up. I wonder what happened to her."

"You don't want to know." Said a feminine voice from the doorway. Catalina walked in and curled herself into the armchair on the other side of the table. Her new tail wrapped around her feet.

"Whoa, when did you get a tail?" Mike asked unaware of the bolts of pain that the tail had given to Catalina.

"Last night." She said a little bitter. She turned her attention the news that was on the channel Donatello flipped to.

"…another child fell victim to the phantom kidnapper who had taken three kids in the past four months. Parents are warned to keep their children safe until this person is caught. Now, back to you-." Catalina tuned out as she saw the picture of her younger brother, Timothy, during that segment.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

"T-Timmy. They've taken Timmy." Catalina gasped as tears poured down her face. "My younger brother is going to become a monster." She wrapped her arms around her knees and cried. Her triangular brown ears drooped in sadness. "He-he's not strong enough. He's only s-six years old." The others came into the room hearing the sobbing as it echoed through their home.

Master Splinter stroked Catalina's back as she cried trying to soothe her. "What is wrong child?" He asked leaning in close. Catalina could only gasp for breath and sob about Timmy.

"The men have taken her brother. Just as they had taken her." Donatello said sadly, looking at Catalina. She wouldn't cry for her own sake or her own pain, but she'd cry for the sake of her brother's life. Suddenly she tried to stand and run for the door.

"Timmy won't make it. He'll die just like Cameron. Cameron didn't make it. And Timmy…." Catalina said softly sinking to the floor. She covered her ears and whispered Cameron over and over. She only faintly realized that someone had picked her up and set her back in Leonardo's room. Only when she knew that they were going to leave her all alone did she snap out of it. "Don't leave me alone! They always left me alone." Catalina whispered. She saw Master Splinter wave the boys away and sit in a chair by the door.

"Miss Morryson, I need to ask you a few questions. Would you mind answering them?" Master Splinter saw Catalina nod her head and grasp her shoulders. "Pardon my asking, but who is Cameron?"

"Cameron was my only friend in that place. He got there two weeks after I did. For the first few months they gave him monkey DNA and that didn't work so they gave him wolf. His changes got more painful as they injected him. One day when they gave him his final dose he never changed. He didn't even blink or breathe he just laid there on that metal table as blood streaked from his nose." Catalina said a single tear falling onto Leonardo's blankets.

"What exactly are they trying to prove by mutating children?" Master Splinter said staring at Catalina whose eyes widened.

"The aren't out to prove anything. They're trying to create the ultimate army. One that is indestructible." Catalina said thinking about what she was saying. "They are trying to figure out what animal DNA goes to which characteristics so they're using children instead of playing with their army men. We have to save them. Not many children live past their final dose." Catalina said sitting up.

"Do you know where their headquarters is?" Master Splinter asked gripping his cane that was leaning against the wall. Catalina nodded once more. "Aren't you going to tell me?"

"No, you'll make me stay here while you go and rescue the children. I'm not going to sit idly by while you may face more danger then you can handle. I'm going with you if you ever want to get there." Catalina said her face set and her tears quite forgotten.

"Okay, but let us not waste time weeping about the past anymore. Let's focus on what lies ahead which includes a Timothy Morryson." The rat gave Catalina a lopsided smile and opened the bedroom door. "My sons, we are going on a mission to save what we can of the world." The four turtles in the living room stood and watched as Catalina followed Master Splinter.

"What about Catalina?" Leonardo asked looking past Master Splinter.

"I'm coming whether you like it or not." Catalina said stubbornly. "Besides I'm the only one who knows where it is and I'm not telling."

"But you aren't healed yet." Donatello protested.

"Don't bother." Master Splinter said with a grin. "She's as stubborn as Rafael and as clever as you Donatello. She's the only one who knows where it is so we have to take her. So this mission will be led by Miss Morryson."

Catalina turned toward the ninjas. "Donny, grab your medical kit, we're gonna need it. Rafael, get me a thin piece of metal I can pick locks with." Catalina grabbed her jacket off the couch and shrugged into it. "Now, we need to get to Jefferson Street. There I can get my bearings." Leonardo grabbed Catalina and carried her through the tunnels as the others caught up.

Once they reached a manhole near Jefferson Street Catalina climbed up. She pulled her hat over her ears, tucked her tail into her jeans, and walked into the street hoping that the turtles wouldn't follow the route she'd taken because it was midday. Catalina walked past a park and past three office buildings until she reached an alley between a post office and a pet store. Faintly she heard the turtles and their Sensei landing behind her.

"What are we looking for?" Mikey said scratching his head.

Catalina said nothing as she searched for the right spot. Behind a large Dumpster there was a dark spot where the bricks had not been weathered by rain and wind. Catalina pressed each of these bricks to test their depth. With each passing moment Catalina got closer and closer to opening the door. The bricks suddenly separated as if by magic revealing a set of metal stairs leading downward.

Carefully Catalina stepped down into the darkness using her eyes that could now see well in the dark. The turtles followed her down until she stopped to pull out her compact mirror.

"Now is not to fix your make-up princess." Raphael said impatiently. Catalina glared back at him and set the mirror on the floor to reflect the motion detection lasers at the floor. She let them go before her until they reached a plated metal door with some serious locks. She heard Donatello gasp and look at the hardware intently.

"That's nothing, you should see what they put on our cell doors." Catalina whispered quickly reaching the door. She looked around and grabbed one of Raphael's sais. He protested, but Leonardo gave him a look. The point of the sai was the perfect size to pry the cover off the keypad.

"Donatello, can you find the code?" Catalina asked. Donatello who was dying to get his hands on the software immediately walked up to the door. Within minutes the door unlocked and Catalina swung it open careful not to hit the wall. Taking medical tape from the First Aid kit she taped the lock to the door so that it wouldn't lock them in.

They followed her down two flights of stairs and through a maze of government funded hallways before anyone spoke. "Dude, and here I thought the sewers were the only thing below the city. There's a whole Alice's wonderland down here." Mikey's comment made Catalina smile at least until they heard a growl behind them.

There was a five-foot tall bear cub behind them. It's feature made Catalina realize that it had once been a blonde-hired girl. It's blue eyes widened in pain and anger as it ran toward them. A sound behind Catalina turned to see a tall man most likely a nineteen-year-old-boy. His skin looked like snake scales and his eyes had blurred red as a long forked tongue slid in and out of his mouth. His twelve-foot long tail lashed out behind him.

Catalina backed up into Raphael who saw the danger behind him. He turned into a defensive crouch in front of Catalina. Then she noticed that the rest of the group had managed to create a protective circle around her.

"Cat. Stay out of the way, got it?" Leonardo said pulling out one of his katana's. Catalina nodded. She backed herself against a wall so that she could keep an eye on both mutants.

Donatello grouped with Raphael against the snake. The snake-man whipped his tail out to the side and made Donatello collide with Raphael making both topple over. It smiled at stepped over them toward Catalina before she realized what was going on. He was three feet away before it tripped over a bo which was held in Donatello's hands.

The bear seemed to be giving the other three some trouble. She threw Mikey down the hallway and Leonardo into a door. Master Splinter seemed to be handling it though. Catalina was too busy watching the snake throw around her new friends to realize that a new mutant had appeared.


	3. Chapter 3

I own no one except Catalina and Timothy and the half-mutants and the doctors and those security guards, but I think that's it. Chapter 3 

With cat DNA in her blood Catalina was scared stiff as scent came to her nose. That new scent was unmistakably the harsh smell of dog. Turning slightly Catalina saw the deformed cross between a boy and a Great Dane. The dog's coat had the peach color of a person and it's face was more human looking. Master Splinter tried to hold the dog off, but it simply jumped over the small rat.

Using her cat instinct, Catalina turned around and ran past the snake and the two turtles fighting it. She heard Donatello yelling after her and risked a glance back to see a faint green blur running after the dog. That look behind her had slowed her running and so the dog caught up with her. Letting out a small shriek, Catalina tumbled over her feet and turned.

The dog leaped over the gap between them and sank his teeth into Catalina's wrist. Donatello used his bo to dislodge the dog from Catalina. The mutant crashed into the opposite wall and Donatello worriedly leaned over Cat.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" Donatello asked. He looked at her wrist, which started to bleed profusely.

"Dogs." Catalina said nervously. "I'm afraid of dogs." Donatello smiled a bit as he handed her a bandage to wrap around her wrist. He heard a low growl as the dog struggled to its feet. Catalina whimpered and shrank behind the purple turtle. Donny grabbed his weapon and stood ready, protectively in front of Catalina.

Suddenly the dog whined and laid down as if scared. Donatello was confused and then heard a zapping sound and a cry of pain. Donatello turned and caught Catalina in surprise as she fell. There were two men in white lab coats. They both held what looked like stun guns in their hands. The men turned to Donatello and gripped the stun guns firmly.

One with big glasses on tentatively pricked Donatello as the turtle watched the other man who was getting close. He yelped in shock as the gun burned his flesh. He fell to his knees and one of the men grabbed Catalina in his arms. Donatello was about to lose consciousness as the man stunned him again until another green blur knocked him off his feet.

"I hate scientists!" Raphael shouted kicking the man in the stomach. He looked around, but the man with Catalina had run off so had the dog. "Especially ones with high-tech gear. C'mon, Leo got hurt."

Donatello shook his head and handed his kit to Raph. "I can't leave Catalina with them. I promised her that I wouldn't. I've got to go find her." Donatello stood shakily, but Raph held him down. "I can't break a promise and leave without her."

Raphael sighed. "Fine, Just let me call them and tell them to leave without us."

"Us?"

"Yeah, you don't think I'd really leave you here and have all the fun." Raph gave him a small smile and pulled out his shell cell. "Yo, Mikey... No, leave. We'll follow later. Cat's gone, don't worry, we'll find her. Get Leo out of here." Then Raphael hung up and helped Donatello to his feet. "Let's go."

They looked in all of the doors that they could find until they reached a hallway labeled _Emergency Operation_. Quietly they peered through the glass windows trying not to be seen. In room number four Catalina lay on the metal table motionless while three doctors examined her. Wires we already hooked up to her and syringes were being filled. The room was locked from the inside, but there were air ducts.

"The DNA seems successfully bonded to experiment 66852. She doesn't show any sign of failure of any kind. Her organs are responding quite well, but experiment 9571 made a gash in her arm. Other than the outside wounds she is in perfect health." said a tall doctor with a clipboard.

"She still has not had her final dose, but I believe that she is well enough as she is." complained a redheaded man by a computer. "The others that have already been injected are hostile and animalistic if they didn't die. If we give them the cure then we can start over again. 66852 is the only successful bondage we've had in months. Maybe we're doing something wrong."

"No, I'm in charge and whatever I say goes." Said the first man. "I want a successful operation on this one. Find out why her hearts not failing and inject the last dosage after you have finished. I expect to find a helpless little tabby cat when I return." Then he walked out the door and down the hall.

Sighing the redhead typed on the computer and stood up. He adjusted the wires connected to Catalina and checked the bandages around her arm. Suddenly Catalina's deep green eyes flicked open. The doctor jumped a few feet off the ground and away from the girl who was starting to move. Hesitantly she sat up, the wires tugging at her skin. Catalina rubbed her tired eyes with her hand very slowly because she was slightly stiff, but didn't notice the guy next to her.

"Don't move." He said pulling out the stun gun from his pocket. "If you know what's good for you you'll lie back down and go to sleep." The redhead looked as if he knew exactly what he was doing as if this happened all the time, but his eyes showed fear.

"Shut-up." Catalina said a headache nosing its way through her brain. "Go away." The man didn't move from his spot on the floor, but Catalina paid no mind, as long as he didn't make a noise.

Without warning the other doctor burst into the room wielding a needle filled with an amber liquid. The man stepped close to Catalina who shrank away from him and the syringe. The redheaded man heaved a relieved sigh as he passed the stun gun to the other doctor.

"Go away, before I get angry." Catalina said pressing her hands against her delicate cat ears. The headache was quickly becoming a migraine as the door banged shut. The new doctor didn't say a word, but he used Catalina's discomfort against her and injected the amber liquid into one of the wires that pierced into her veins. Catalina let out an unearthly shriek as the liquid was pumped throughout her body. She writhed in pain on the cold metal operating table as the doctor watched with a sneer on his face.

"Leave her alone!" Donatello cried as he slammed into the room through one of the air ducts in the ceiling. Raphael followed soon after landing behind the redheaded man. "What did you do to her!"

"W-we just g-gave her th-the final dose of th-the experiment." Stuttered the man that cowered by Raphael. The other doctor that still held the syringe stood defiantly by Catalina as if he couldn't be scared. Donatello grabbed a fistful of his shirt and lifted him off the ground.

"What's wrong with her now?" Donatello growled "Fix her." The man he held now showed a little fear as Donatello walked over to the thrashing girl. The doctor hesitantly leaned over and pulled out the wire that still contained the amber liquid now altering Catalina's DNA. Catalina let out another cry as she fell into unconsciousness. Donatello threw the man against the wall and Raphael hit the redhead in the temple with the hilt one of his sais. Carefully Donatello picked Catalina up bridal style and carried her out of the room.

"Now that we've got sleeping beauty we should get back." Raphael said a bit rifled by the hostility Donatello showed while defending Catalina. "Leo will get worried."

"What about her brother?" Donatello asked looking to Raphael. "We can't leave him here. We can't just let all of the other children stay here either."

"I know, but we can't break them out of here alone. We need Mikey and Leo. We also need to get your girlfriend out of here. Somehow, I don't think she was okay in there." Raphael said looking down at Catalina in Donatello's arms. Her head was leaning against his shoulder and her breathing was irregular.

"She's not my girlfriend." Donatello said heading down the hallway. Raphael couldn't help, but see the faint blush creeping across his brother's cheeks. "Besides, when she wakes up in the lair without her brother she'll probably go ballistic and try to come back by herself. If we free them now then we can hide them in the sewers." Donatello said pushing open one of the doors and carefully walking to the other end of that hallway with a sign on the door marked _Experiment enclosures. Proceed with caution. _

"How do we know if they're even in there?" Raphael asked pulling out his sais, ready for something to attack.

"We don't. You go in first." Donatello said stepping aside so Raphael could pass him.

"Scared?" Raphael said teasing. Donatello looked at Raphael oddly and then motioned at Catalina. "Oh. Right." Then Raphael turned toward the door and as quietly as he could, smashed it open.

Inside there was a room the size of a football field. Cages were set in rows and had numbers on the doors. Each of the people inside the cages were of various ages and mutated stages. There were snakes, bears, cats, dogs, birds, lizards, an elephant, wolves; Donatello even caught a glimpse of a half-mutated turtle. Near the back of the room there was a large cage with children in it. They had not been mutated in the slightest.

"Cathy." A boy spoke standing to run over to the turtle. "Its Cathy." He looked up to Raphael who came up behind Donatello. "And lizard-men."

Donatello wouldn't have known it was Timothy if it hadn't been for those startlingly green eyes that blinked up at him. Besides the fact that he and Catalina shared the same eye color they looked nothing alike. His sandy-blonde hair hung I his face as if it hadn't been washed or cut recently. The six-year-old boy looked up at the five-foot tall turtle and then to the girl limply in its arms.

"We're here to get you out. Do you know where the keys are?" Raphael asked kneeling so he could be eye-level with the boy.

"Yes." Timothy said pointing towards the glass cabinet on the wall. "In there they have keys. The blue one opens this lock." He reached up and touched the padlock on the door above his head. "Is Cathy okay?"

"She'll be fine." Donatello said resting Catalina by the wall. Raphael searched for a way to open the box that contained the keys.

"Donny, We can either break open the box, find a way to open the box, or break open the cages." Raphael said putting his hands on his hips. Donatello walked to the glass box and examined it.

"I suggest that we break open the cages. This box is made of titanium enforced glass. Nearly unbreakable." Donatello said walking back to the cage that held Catalina's brother. "I want you kids to stay back." He lifted up his bo and slammed it onto the padlock. It was dented, but not broken. He hit it again and the padlock fell to the ground broken to pieces. A little girl who looked about ten years old grabbed the hands of some of the younger kids and led them out of the cell.

Raphael picked Timothy up in his arms as well as an eight-year-old girl staring up at him. Once Donatello grabbed Catalina they rushed over to the other cages looking at how bad the people were. Some were so weak that they barely had the strength to look up at the turtles as the walked pass. Others begged to be let out and the unfortunate ones emitted inhuman cries.

"What do we do with the rest of them?" Donatello asked looking at a half-mutated boy with wings. "We don't know if we will be able to get back in."

"All right then." Raphael said as he started smashing locks open. He didn't let the hostile ones out of their cages, they would have to be cured first. The stronger mutants carried the young ones or the weak ones as Donatello carefully led the parade past halls, hoping to find a way out.

"Donny," Whispered Catalina looking up at him with unfocused eyes. "Where are we?"

"I don't know. Hey, how do we get out of here?" Donatello asked looking down at Catalina. "We're by the science labs." He felt the Cat-girl shudder against his chest as she lifted a clawed hand toward the left hallway.

"Follow that until you reach a door labeled Cafeteria and then turn right. You'll have to break down the door and then follow the stairs upward. It will get you to St. Adams Avenue." Catalina said as she drew in a shaky breath.

Donatello followed the route she said stopping only once as a pair of laughing guards walked into the Cafeteria. Surprised that a governmental lab would have such bad security Donatello led them out of the dreadful lab and out into the city. The sun was setting so they could walk the streets almost unnoticed until they reached the first manhole they saw a street away.

It wasn't until they reached the lair when Donatello noticed how many people they had set free. There looked to be thirty or forty people sighing in relief as they entered a light-filled dwelling.

"I see you've made it home all right." Splinter said walking into the room. Raphael was leading the people away from the entrance so that they can sit down. "I also see that someone is quite fond of you." Timothy stood close to Donatello who held his sister.

"Sensei, Catty…they gave her an injection and now she'll barely wake up for even a few moments." Donatello said clearly stressed out. Then a man who was half- morphed into a ram walked over. He seemed to be about twenty-three years old.

"If you set her down she can rest and the miasma can settle out and disperse. It might evaporate within her bloodstream or be absorbed, but less movement might help her." He said nodding his head. "They made us run a treadmill thing after each dose to circulate the toxins." Then he walked back to the place he was sitting among a few half-turned reptiles.

Donatello set Catalina on his bed since Leo was sleeping on his. When he turned around he saw Timothy standing in the doorway. "Can I sleep with Cathy?" Timothy immediately stuck his thumb in his mouth as he stared up at Donatello. After a nod from the turtle Timothy walked over to the bed and curled up under Catalina's arm. Donatello left the room faintly remembering the conversation he overheard about most kids not living past their final dosage.

How was it? Was it good? Okay? Really bad? Review and tell me your thoughts.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Do you think that she'll ever wake up?" Donatello asked Mikey. Catalina had slept through the whole night. Though fortunately there were very few mishaps. Leo had woken up and was already out with Raph returning the young un-mutated kids to their homes. Master Splinter was gathering data from the adults who knew what had happened to them.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine." Mikey said patting Donatello's shoulder. Even as the comic relief he knew that it wouldn't be wise to joke about Catty's health with Donny. Raph had told Leo and Mikey about Don's little explosion in the experiment rooms with the doctor.

The door swung open to reveal Timothy who looked as if he just rolled out of bed. He ran over to the two turtles and held out his hands. They were covered in blood.

"She's bleeding and Cathy won't wake up." Timothy said tears starting to form in his green eyes that matched Catalina's. Donatello hurriedly walked into his room where Catalina lay on his bed slightly conscious. Her eyes were only slightly open as if she was dazed and her wounds were reopening. Timothy stood by the edge of the bed as Donatello re-wrapped some bandages to stop the bleeding.

"Donny…?" Catalina rasped opening her eyes more. She still looked dazed, but now she was starting to cry. "I had a dream…a nightmare. There were…I was-." Then suddenly she leaped up into Donatello's arms. "You were dead! Th-they used you as a test subject a-and-." Donatello wrapped his arms around Catalina's sobbing form trying to comprehend what she had just told him.

"It's all right now." Donatello said pulling Catalina closer. He was faintly aware of Mikey pulling Timothy out of the room saying that Catalina and Donny needed some alone time. After a few minutes Catalina's breathing slowed and deepened telling Donatello that she was asleep. He was about to get up, but she groaned and held him tighter. So he leaned back into the pillows his arms still around the cat-girl.

A few hours later he woke up and looked around the room confused. Something was missing. Then he realized that Catalina wasn't in the room. Puzzled he walked out of his room and down the hall to find Mikey in the middle of a game with one of the mutants. To Donny's amusement Mikey was losing. Catalina was sitting in an armchair with her arms wrapped around her little brother.

Two pairs of green eyes flicked up towards him. Catalina blushed and quickly looked back to the battle on the screen. Donatello saw that her skin was tinted a pale red with grey stripes across it, Almost like a tiger and her eyes were slightly gold. The last injection of animal toxins had changed her very little thanks to the minimal dose she had been given.

"Aw, look at the two lovebirds!" Mikey said pulling Catalina and Donatello closer together. "Wait until you see the pictures!"

"Pictures?" Catalina and Donatello said questioningly. Mikey grinned at them and pulled something out from under a pillow. Raph snickered in a corner, as Leo looked at them puzzled. Someone was giggling behind them possibly one of the many mutants waiting for Catalina and Donatello's reactions.

Slowly Donatello opened the envelope and pulled out several pictures of Catalina and Donatello sleeping with their arms wrapped around each other. Catalina's eyes widened and she blushed madly. Raphael burst out laughing as Donatello began chasing Mikey around the room, which was pretty hard considering all of the people.

"Who took the pictures?" Catalina asked her voice a little squeaky from embarrassment. Raphael smiled.

"Master Splinter." At that Donatello put his face in his hands not because he was embarrassed, but because he was smiling. Catalina's blush deepened and she hugged Timothy close to hide her face.

"Now that everyone is awake I believe that an antidote is to be created." Master Splinter said coming into the room with a slight smile on his face. "Donatello we will need the use of your chemistry skills." Then suddenly everything fell into place. Donatello set out to create a cure with the help of some of the mutants and Catalina while Leo gathered helpful bits of information.

Everyone knew their duties and they fell into a routine. Any helpful information that the turned-mutants gave was immediately told to Catalina to see if she could tell more about it. Then she retold it Donatello who would try to figure it into his calculations. Master Splinter had been recruited to help Donatello with his chemistry while Michelangelo entertained the younger mutants. Raphael was out looking for clues to help with the cure. So far their actions were in vain.

It seemed that each dose was specially created to the individual experiment. The DNA of each animal was manipulated to fit the person's size and stature. The DNA of an animal was chosen by the person's personality. At heart every person had a spirit like an animal and once the scientists knew which animal they were compatible with they were able to fuse the two together.

Donatello glanced at his notes before returning to his work of creating a cure for the half-ram talking to Master Splinter. Then he put down the contraptions he was working with. "It's no use. Without knowing what part of the DNA was used we can't create a suitable replacement of a cure."

"Oh, our code numbers are part of what we were created as." Catalina said turning to the purple turtle. "The numbers we were known as have the part of DNA fused with us. My numbers 66852 mean that I was fused with the strength and likeness to a tiger." She yawned and looked at Donatello who was shaking his head.

"You decide to tell me this now?" He said looking at her. "Can you decipher what parts of the DNA other people were fused with?" Catalina nodded her head and went over to some of the mutants. Information began to pile up and Donatello was able to almost completely recreate a cure for them.

The news was on the television as some people flipped the channels. A woman was talking with a relieved looking couple who held the small girl who had followed Raph around the lair.

"Many families were relieved as their young children were returned to their homes in the past few hours. It seems as though the mysterious rescuers were wearing costumes for nearly all of the children claimed to be saved by giant animals. Lisa Drevey drew a picture of one of her rescuers." The woman said turning to the girl. Lisa held up a crude drawing of Raphael complete with a scowl and what looked to be a bowl of cereal in his hands.

Everyone turned to Raphael who was watching TV eating a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. Mikey and Catalina were the first to burst out laughing. The normal scowl returned to his face as he stocked off to his room to finish his meal.

"I think I've got it!" Donny yelled looking into the grayish red liquid. "I need you to drink this Catalina."

"What am I your test subject?" Catalina said objecting to being a lab rat once again. Donatello shrugged.

"I had your information handy." He said handing her the beaker. Catalina grimaced, but took the phial. Taking a deep breath she swallowed the contents in one swig. She stood there for a minute. "I don't understand it was supposed to do something."

"What is it supposed to-." Suddenly a cry of pain and fear escaped Catalina's lips as she sank to the cold floor. She hugged her arms as if she was cold and the people around her could see a metamorphosis going on. Catalina's cat ears shrank into her scalp and they could see human ears peeking through her hair. The tail was whipping out around her until it was withdrawn into her jeans. The claws on her fingers shriveled into human nails. Finally her skin lost the grey stripes so it looked as if she had bad sunburn until it too faded into a pale peach color.

For a few minutes she looked as if she had fainted on the floor until she looked up at Donatello with joyful green eyes. She smiled and he saw that her teeth had also become human once more.

"Donny," She said looking up at him once more. "I can't standup." Blushing slightly Catalina was helped to stand by Mikey who was leaning on the counter.

"All right." Donatello said turning back to the chemistry equipment. "Who next." There was a whole lot of yelling before they settled into a line in. Catalina who was now human helped Donatello and Master Splinter to create more of the morphing elixir. By the time it was dinner half of the people were changed back and were either helping or had gone to the surface. Each was sworn to silence as they left.

"I'm tired." Catalina said tucking her hair behind her human ear. She rubbed her ear for a moment thoughtfully before blushing as Timothy stared at her. "I've been part cat for almost six months. I have to get used to not having feline ears." She explained as she turned to the turtles. "Is there any chance I could get a shower?"

"Yeah, there's a bathroom next to Raphael's room." Leo said handing a phial to a boy with porcupine spines jutting from his back. Catalina nodded a thank you and walked off into a hallway. Timothy stayed to watch the people morph back into humans.

Catalina unwrapped the bandages on her arms expecting the worst, but it seems that the change back to herself had healed all of her previous wounds except the hole in her left ear which used to hold a marker ring to locate her throughout the training rooms. She noticed pale scars where bloodied flesh used to be on her forearms and shoulders. Quickly she undressed and stepping into the warm stream of water already pouring from the spout.

After her blessed shower, Catalina found that someone, most likely Splinter, had replaced her clothes with a pair of clean khaki pants and a green and white striped T-shirt. There was a grey sweatshirt instead of her green jacket and a pair of white tennis shoes instead of her mangled blue sneakers. Smiling, Catalina got dressed in the clean clothes and pulled her wet hair into a ponytail.

She stepped out into the hallway only to be met by a heavy object to the back of her head. Catalina blacked out as she turned around staring into the face of her attacker.


End file.
